The genomic architecture of the sex-determining region and sex-related metabolic variation in Ginkgo biloba

Qinggang Liao, Ran Du, Junbo Gou, Lvjun Guo, He Shen, Hailin Liu, Julie K. Nguyen, Ray Ming, Tongming Yin, Sanwen Huang, Jianbin Yan

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

Abstract

Sex differences and evolutionary differences are critical biological issues. Ginkgo is an ancient lineage of dioecious gymnosperms with special value for studying the mechanism of sex determination in plants. However, the major genetic basic underlying sex chromosomes remains to be uncovered. In this study, we identify the sex-determining region of Ginkgo and locate it to the area from megabases 48 to 75 on chromosome 2. We find that the male sex-determining region of Ginkgo contains more than 200 genes, including four MADS-box genes, demonstrating that the Ginkgo sex determination system is of the XY type. We also find that genetic sex differences result in specialized flavonoid metabolism and regulation in each sex. These findings establish a foundation for revealing the molecular mechanism of sexual dimorphism and promoting the development of the Ginkgo industry.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)1399-1409
Number of pages11
JournalPlant Journal
Volume104
Issue number5
DOIs
StatePublished - Dec 2020

Keywords

  • Flavonoid
  • Ginkgo biloba
  • gymnosperm
  • secondary metabolism
  • sex determination

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Genetics
  • Plant Science
  • Cell Biology

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